Chicken Rice

Ok, let’s dive right into this and get chicken rice out of the way. Hainanese chicken rice might just be THE quintessential Singaporean hawker dish. If you’ve known anyone who ever lived in Singapore, odds are you’ve heard them mention this dish. Odds are also pretty good that you’ve heard the term ‘chicken rice’ and wondered what the big deal is. Chicken, rice, yeah- doesn’t everyone eat that?

So, chicken rice is basically a few pieces of perfectly steamed, roasted or boiled chicken (skin on, bone in) on a patty of rice that’s been specially flavored with chicken stock. Still pretty straightforward, but incredibly tasty.

The most beautiful thing about chicken rice, though, is the price. When I was there in ’08-’10, a plate of chicken rice cost about $2.50-$3.50 depending on where you were in town– which is why it took me a year to give in and order it for €12 at the Malaysian restaurant here in Amsterdam. Prices have gone up on food over there since then, but chicken rice will probably always great for a budget lunch.

And, since I still don’t really want to pay 300% more (actually 500 if you count the exchange-rate) for a plate of [delicious] street food, here’s the best method I’ve found for preparing it yourself outside of Singapore: (I know it looks like a lot of steps, but it’s really not that bad!)

[Prep: 15min / Cook: 45min]

Ingredients

– 4 chicken thighs
– 1 cup uncooked white rice
– 1.5 cups chicken stock
– 2 Tbs vegetable oil (divided)
– 2 tsp sesame oil (divided)
– 2 Tbs oyster sauce
– 2 Tbs light soy sauce +some
– green onion
– 1 shallot
– 2 garlic cloves
– ginger
– fresh coriander/cilantro
– salt
– cucumber
– sweet chili sauce

1. Set-up a pot of water for steaming (ie: with a steamer pot, steamer basket or a bowl propped-up on a steamer stand). Bring to a boil.
2. Add a touch of soy sauce, a couple slices of ginger and a couple sprigs of green onion to the water. Rub cold chicken with a little bit of salt and add to steamer.
3. Cover and steam for 30min or until juices run clear.
4. Meanwhile, slice the shallots and chop the garlic and a couple more slices of ginger.
5. Heat 1 Tbs vegetable oil and 1 tsp sesame oil in a large skillet or wok and fry the shallots, garlic and ginger for a minute or two.
6. Add the rice and a handful of chopped cilantro and ‘toast’ it for a few minutes more (like, 5).
7. Separate out about 3 Tbs of chicken stock (you’ll see) and pour the rest into the rice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 15-20min until rice is cooked.
8. Then, while those are both going, mix the remaining Tbs of vegetable oil and tsp of sesame oil with the soy sauce, oyster sauce and that odd 3Tbs of chicken stock from step 7. That’s your sauce.
9. When it’s all done, chop the chicken into long strips, layer it across the top of a pile of your rice, pour the sauce over and garnish with sliced cucumber, some coriander leaves and heaping pile of chili sauce.
10. Ready to eat!

[Serves 2]

Recipe melded together from Easy Steam Chicken, Singapore Chicken Rice and Hainanese-style Chicken Rice

• No matter how you choose to cook the chicken (see variations below), the chicken should be just barely fully cooked. That’s a big part of what makes it what it is. However, raw or under-cooked chicken is very, very risky. Err on the side of caution until you get the feel for the best cooking time.
• There seems to be a lot of talk and insistence on using organic and/or free-range chicken. They say it makes all the difference in flavor. Maybe they’re right.
• I realize buying just one shallot is kind of annoying. You could substitute chopped green onion if you want or even some regular red onion, but you’d have to slice it really thin ‘less you mess up the texture.
• Chopping things like ginger, garlic and coriander can be kind of annoying too. Feel free to substitute the ground/powdered kind as follows: 1 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp garlic powder and about 1 Tbs+ dried coriander/cilantro.
• You don’t really need to put the flavorings into the steaming water, but it’s kind of a trade secret of mine.
• I never seem to have sesame oil around, and you probably don’t either. You can get away without it, but it is definitely a key piece of flavor.

• Most (all) recipes out there cook the chicken by boiling a whole chicken. If you’re keen to try this, go for it, but be sure to cook it with the flavorings (ginger, green onion) in the water and dump the chicken in an ice bath to stop the cooking when it’s finished.
• There’s also a method that involves bringing the whole thing to a boil, covering it, removing it from heat and then letting it sit to cook for 45min – 1hr. Try it if you dare 😉
• Some really authentic cooks out there will tell you to make two chickens: one cooked to death just for making chicken stock and then using that to cook the 2nd chicken, resulting in some sort of super-stock that is then used to cook the rice. I’m sure that tastes great too, but I just can’t throw away a whole chicken.
• So why steam, then? This seemed the most manageable way to prepare a single meal’s worth for two (who wants to mess with a whole chicken, anyway?). And, I can honestly say that was the juiciest, tastiest chicken I’ve ever made.